The T-34 was a Sovietmedium
tank produced from 1941 to 1958. It is widely regarded as having been the
world's best tanks
when the Soviet Union entered World
War II, and although its armour
and armament were surpassed by later tanks of the era, it has been often
credited as the war's most effective, efficient and influential design.[1]
First produced at the KhPZ
factory in Kharkov (Kharkiv,
Ukraine),
it was the mainstay of Soviet armoured
forces throughout World War II, and widely exported afterwards. It was the
most-produced tank of the war, and the second most-produced tank of all time,
after its successor, the T-54/55
series.[2]
A 1996 publication showed that the T-34 was still in service with twenty-seven
countries.